A short review of Prince of Thorns

Of the many attempts to pen a fantasy series that doesn't involve an orphan with totally obvious lineage who has been chosen for a very specific destiny, Prince of Thorns makes a decent stab at it by going for an antihero. Raping, murdering, pillaging Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath (whose name you will pronounce with a hard G all the way up until someone calls him "Jorgy" and you realise it's just a ye-olde-ified way to spell George) is the main protagonist, a wee lad who's had a tough childhood so far and is busily taking it out on everyone he meets.

This is one of those fantasy worlds that rise from the dust of what is recognisably our world (or a version thereof if you want to be pedantic about it) always fun for spotting what they call the odd still-working lightbulb - glowbulb? everlight? smokeless torch? - and the various bits and pieces of our forgotten civilisation. 

Author Mark Lawrence has created quite a coherent little world for Jorg to frighten the shit out of, drawing on elements of both fantasy and science fiction in clever if not always original ways. Secondary characters could frequently do with a little more fleshing out than they get, although the benefits of a trilogy are that you have the time to develop folks at a somewhat slower pace. (A second novel, King of Thorns, is out now, with a third, Emperor of Thorns, due out in August.) The book's biggest weakness, however, is also its greatest strength, Jorg himself.

An antihero is never the easiest route to take, since you have to decide if they'll stay an unrepentant bastard throughout and risk losing reader sympathy or take them on a journey of quasi or total redemption and risk the whole thing seeming like a bit of a setup. It's not clear by the end of Prince of Thorns whether Lawrence has succeeded in evading these risks or not, but the tight, concise writing, neatly circular plot and intriguing setting will ensure that you at least lay your hands on King of Thorns to find out.